My 1970 Beetle

[Tommei]

Hi everyone,

Just bought my first Bug. Venturing into a very different car scene. Have always been into old school Japanese cars but wanted to get into European cars for a change. Also the oldest car ive ever owned.

Its a 1970 Volkswagen Beetle. Always intrigued by these cars, they are very iconic, have a huge scene and also heaps of aftermarket support!

Mines pretty much stock mechanically wise, although it was built to be more of a track car which I like. Its got full flare kit, whale tail, staggered Chaviot Hotwire wheels, ramflow poddy, race seats and stripped interior.

It needs a bit of work to be running right so I can get it back onto the road, but its overall pretty clean condition.

It would be great if anyone could provide some first time owners tips for these machines!

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1985 Mazda RX7
1985 Nissan Bluebird TRX
1992 Toyota Cressida
1970 Volkswagen Beetle

[one4house]

Welcome to the world of VW. One thing I can tell you off the bat, the colling of these cars works best when the top of the engine is seperated from the bottom. You have a large piece of the engine tin that is missing between the top and bottom. This picture below....

See how the top and bottom are separated by a piece of tin? You need to get that into your car. If it is not there, the engine draws in the hot air from the bottom of the engine making it run hot.

It looks like you have a real nice car there. The motor looks like it was maintained. Are the tubes in this picture blocked off? The ones off of the fan shroud on either side of the carb?

If not, they are also blowing hot air into the top of the engine bay.
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My Old 64 Field Find
My Old 66 Squareback
My Old 66 Beetle
My Old 70 Squareback

[Danwvw]

In the photos above the rear engine tin's are all missing. These are necessary to keep the hot air from under the engine from going back into the cooling fan! So it would not be a good idea to drive it too much in the summer or on hot days until you put those back in. Do you know what size the engine is? Stock is 1585 cc's with a 69 mm stroke crankshaft, Non counterweighted! Not for over 4000 rpm without damage to the engine case over a longer period of time. Got 25000 miles out of the Type 1 engine in my bus but now the case is hammered out and the thrust bearing thickness is less the specs allow for oversized thrust bearings. For $800 I can buy a new case made out of aluminum rather than magnesium which is stronger that will hold up to the higher RPM's.
If you have a counterweighted crank and the engine has been balanced then this won't be as much of a problem.
In 1970 the Type 1 vw engine only had a single oil pressure relief valve near the pulley end of the engine. But in 1971 they came with dual port heads which you have and an off set oil cooler. Check and see which case you have and which oil cooler. Use the case numbers here on "the samba" under technical above. Looks like a fun car to drive. How is the transaxle?
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1960 Beetle And 1679cc DP W-100 & Dual Zeniths!

[Tommei]

[AlanInMass54]

Cool car, congrats to you (I'd rip off all the Herbie stuff, but that's me). You will want to get that fuel filter out of the engine compartment, too. They can leak and then you end up with this:

Best spot to relocate it is either underneath the fuel tank or in the rear as the fuel line exits the chassis. Technically the car already has a fuel filter in the tank in the form of a mesh screen that is around the tube that exits out the bottom. Good luck with it! I like the wheels, too.

[one4house]

+1 on relocating the fuel filter. I even replaced mine with a solid metal one.

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My Old 64 Field Find
My Old 66 Squareback
My Old 66 Beetle
My Old 70 Squareback

[Danwvw]

Looks like the AD cases started in 1970 and were the first of the dual oil pressure relief valve cases and were 1600 engines 60 hp. Trans sounds normal. If it grinds going into second the syncro's may be worn make sure to use a good GL-4 gear lube for it's brass parts. Gear lubes that are too lightweight cans cause problems shifting. If it just does not want to drop easily into second, that is a miss aligned shifter stick. Just loosen the 2 bolts at the bottom of the shifter and position it better. "A bit tricky" You want it to shift nice between 1st and second without hanging up on either one. Make sure not to get it so you can put it into reverse without pushing down. While adjusting things make sure it is also shifting between 3rd and 4th nicely too. VW beetles to have a bit of play in the stock shifter. I like it. It could have some worn parts but they last forever. Good advice on the metal fuel filter and putting it under that hot motor instead of over.
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1960 Beetle And 1679cc DP W-100 & Dual Zeniths!